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The Auggie men's basketball and men's hockey teams are in the MIAC postseason playoffs, and if you can't make it to the games (though we really wish you would), you can listen to the live action online.
We will have live audio webcasts of all Augsburg playoff games in men's basketball and men's hockey -- http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/liveaudio/. Our great play-by-play guy, Tom Witschen, will be on the call tonight for men's basketball at Bethel and tomorrow for men's hockey at Hamline.
For tonight's (WEDNESDAY 2/25) men's basketball playoff game at Bethel at 7:30 p.m., the Royals will have a live video webcast (click here), as well as live stats (click here). Here's a hint for your best Auggie fan enjoyment ... Click on the Bethel live video link to watch, but mute the sound on the QuickTime window. Then click on the Augsburg audio link and make sure that window is active. That way, you can watch the video and still listen to Tom with the Augsburg call!
For tomorrow's (THURSDAY 2/26) men's hockey playoff game at Hamline (Drake Ice Arena in St. Paul) at 7:15 p.m., Tom will be your link to all the action with our live audio webcast.
Augsburg men's hockey update, courtesy of Augsburg head coach Chris Brown, discussing the team's trip last weekend to Oswego, N.Y.:
We had a great trip to start the new year that had many miles, but many memories! We got to see the best team in the NHL play in their arena (Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena) and we got to see the Stanley Cup on a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
We drove through Niagara Falls en route to Oswego, N.Y., where we started the second half of the season with a win over Babson (Mass.). The best part of the win for our team was that we finally took control of a third period to score four goals and get the solid 6-2 win! We have been challenged to win the first and third periods this year so this was a positive step for us. We also won the third period the next night against host Oswego State (N.Y.), but unfortunately we spotted them a substantial three-goal lead in the first period as we ended up losing 5-2.
We left Oswego at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and we were back at Augsburg by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. We only stopped once to eat breakfast because we had two bus drivers and sleeper bunks in the bus, so most guys slept through the night. All told, it was an 18-hour ride. It was an excellent trip that we will all walk away with memories for a lifetime, and as always, I was proud of the way our guys handled themselves in so many public venues!
All in all, we are making progress on the ice and our team has confidence, which is the most important thing this time of year as we head into a stretch of seven straight weekends of games. We play our last nonconference games of the year this weekend, and as we have done all year, it will be a stiff challenge.
Every team that we have played this season has been ranked in the USCHO top 15 rankings at some point this season. We have played 8 of our 11 games on the road, and I believe these challenges will have prepared us to make a strong run at making the playoffs in the MIAC!
Welcome back to the second half of the Augsburg athletics year! Now that we're deep into the winter sports season and the holidays are behind us, we promise to be more vigilant with posts to the ol' AugBlog.
Some observations on the first portion of the winter sports season:
n The Augsburg wrestling team is heading into the upcoming Division III National Duals with renewed optimism, given the results from the team's last two tournaments. At the Sunshine Wrestling Classic at the end of December, Augsburg won seven individual titles and had 19 top-eight placewinners in a tournament that featured five schools rated in the top 25 in the Division III national poll. And this past Saturday, the Auggies shined against some solid NAIA and Division II competition at the Dickinson State (N.D.) Blue Hawk Classic, with six champs/co-champs and 18 placewinners.
The Auggies dropped to the No. 7 spot in the national polls after a dual-meet loss to in-state rival St. John's on Nov. 25, but hopefully should move back into the top four when the new poll comes out on Tuesday. Heading into the National Duals this coming weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa, it should make for some interesting action.
n The Augsburg men's hockey team represented themselves very well over the weekend at the Pathfinder Bank/Oswego (N.Y.) Hockey Classic, taking second place with a 6-2 win over Babson (Mass.) in the opening game and a 5-2 loss to No. 11-ranked Oswego State (N.Y.) in the finals.
And a solid weekend for Chris Johnson. The junior forward scored two goals and had three assists to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Also, another solid weekend for goalie Andrew Kent. Playing every minute in goal for the Auggies thus far this season, he has produced a solid 3.84 GAA and .888 save percentage, and he came up with 60 saves on the weekend.
n The Auggie women's hockey team has a lot of traveling this weekend ... five games in a seven-day span! Two games at Lake Forest (Ill.), then a day to travel north to Hancock, Mich., for two games against Finlandia (Mich.), and a day of traveling back to Minneapolis for a home game against Plymouth State (N.H.) on Saturday afternoon. A total of 1,110 miles on the bus during the week.
The Auggies are still in search of their first win of the season, but are coming off a close 2-1 loss to Lake Forest yesterday afternoon. Hopefully, the first win comes this week!
n The Auggie men's basketball team has also been a victim of some close results, with three two-point games in a row -- a 52-50 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10, a 76-74 loss to Northwestern-Roseville on Dec. 13 and a 57-55 loss to St. Olaf on Saturday.
Junior point guard Jon Cassens has had another solid start to the season, averaging a team-best 14.7 points-per-game while also contributing 41 assists. David Olson has also been solid at the guard spot, averaging 10.3 ppg, and center Nate Alm has been outstanding, averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per-game. And the Auggies may have found another scoring threat in newcomer Anthony Humphrey, a transfer from Bemidji State who joined the team at the semester break. In his first Auggie game on Saturday against the Oles, he connected on four clutch 3-pointers and had 14 points.
n The Auggie women's basketball team has had a tough start to MIAC play, with five straight losses, including a 76-63 setback to St. Olaf this past Saturday, with the Auggies missing center Christa Sudebeck due to injury. However, coach Jennifer Britz's squad hung tough all game, despite being at a height disadvantage. Here's hoping that Suedbeck and her 10.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per-game come back to the Auggie lineup soon!
Meanwhile, guards Shannon Renne and Serenae Levine have put together solid seasons, averaging 10.4 and 10.5 points per-game, respectively. Levine has the potential to be one of the top first-year players in the conference, and her 23-point, five-assist, two-steal effort against St. Olaf was incredible. Another player who is having the best year of her career is senior swing-player Michelle Richter, who has contributed a solid 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per-game thus far.
The Augsburg men's hockey team will be taking part in a unique fundraiser on Saturday (11/22) at 7 p.m. at its game against St. Thomas at the Augsburg Ice Arena.
In order to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research, the Auggies will be wearing special pink jerseys for Saturday's game, designed and donated by Tim Hawkinson and Eric Knutson from Showcase Hockey. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink clothing to the game.
Team members are asking for donations, both at the gate and via pledge sheets. Donations will be given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation - Minnesota Affiliate.
The special pink jersey fundraiser game was the brainchild of Augsburg men's hockey players Andrew Kent, Brett Way and Kurt Hogard, along with cross country/track athlete Kelsie Lungstrom, as part of a business class project, according to men's hockey coach Chris Brown.
This is the second year that the men's hockey team has held a breast cancer fundraiser, held in memory of Lois Hallcock Johnson '68, the wife of assistant coach Bruce Johnson '68. Lois died on Nov. 26, 2007 after a battle with breast cancer. A teacher, coach and counselor, she worked in the Osseo (Minn.) School District for 36 years, and was a strong supporter of her alma mater. Their three children -- Leah, Thomas and Aaron -- all attended Augsburg.
From the "It's never too early to talk about winter sports" file ...
Augsburg men's hockey coach Chris Brown has named his 2008-09 captains. Team captain will be forward Chris Johnson (JR, Verona, Wis./Madison Memorial HS), while the assistant captains will be defender Kurt Hogard (SR, Thunder Bay, Ontario/St. Ignatius HS), goalie Andrew Kent (SR, Lakeville, Minn.) and forward Brett Way (SR, Grand Ledge, Mich.).
Brown says of his captains: "The leadership in our program could not be in better hands. The culture of the program is shaped by our captains and upperclassmen. With Chris Johnson leading the way along with the excellent support of Andrew, Kurt and Brett, I could not be more excited about the possibilities of achievement for this team."
Augsburg finished 6-17-2 last season (4-12-0 MIAC), but return 16 letterwinners to a team that has confidence that it will show improvement this year. Practices begin October 13, and the season starts on Halloween night (Oct. 31) with a home game against Wisconsin-Stout at the Augsburg Ice Arena.
The Auggie men's basketball and men's hockey teams are in the MIAC postseason playoffs, and if you can't make it to the games (though we really wish you would), you can listen to the live action online.
